Iowa DOT ready to tackle winter weather

Throughout eastern Iowa, the Department of Transportation is poised and ready to strike at any winter weather that materializes Wednesday night.

Brad Fleming is the highway maintenance supervisor for the Iowa DOT's Manchester and Independence maintenance garages.

His employees at the Manchester garage spent Wednesday working on last-minute vehicle maintenance.

"Getting plows and wings on, making sure that all of our salt and sand units are functional, actually taking them out and running them to be sure that they're all functional," Fleming listed.

Usually, his crews prepare the roads with anti-icing salt brine solution, but in advance of Wednesday's storm, they did not.

"In this situation, with the forecast of high winds, if we get the material on the road beforehand, it will cause the road to get wet," Fleming said. "Then, as the snow falls, and then when the snow is blowing, it will actually stick to the road. We're better if we can keep the road dry and just let the snow blow on across the road."

He said while this may make for a few icy patches, dry roads are better with high-speed winds.

In the meantime, crews are scheduled around the clock for whatever snow and ice removal may be necessary.

DOT officials continue to monitor the weather.

Fleming said he doesn't anticipate having to send out plows any earlier than midnight, unless the weather takes a quick change for the worse.